……Sometimes my posts only come together when the stars align. Today I was reading a post by a popular blogger, who is also a published author, Stephen King. No not that Stephen King. The Stephen King that I am referring to is a.k.a. TOSK – The Other Stephen King.

Anyway, Stephen writes Fantasy and wrote a post on “other” languages used in fantasy fiction. Here is the link, Fictional Languages. It is a wonderful celebration of all those authors who have created new languages to be used in their English language novels. Stephen’s post also goes into the detail of how he is creating a language for his next book(s). Now, I have difficulty getting a post out in English and here are all these other authors, not only getting their posts out, but also inventing other languages. Sigh!

A Mad Tea Party

Oh yes, the alignment. I happened to be posting in another blogging group – My Blogworld and I came across this blog entitled “Gyre and Gambol.” I recognized it immediately as a line from one of my favourite poems – Jabberwocky, by Lewis Carroll. (Yes, the Gambol should be spelled Gimble – lets just call it a mutation 🙂 ) The poem itself has to be the most amazing example of an invented language. OK, it isn’t all another language. There are a lot of connectors that are recognizably English; but it’s a wonderful study in mood, and fantasy, and how we do not have to be tied to convention. We can just speak and we can write and we can be understood, because of some sort of intuitive connection between writer and reader.

Here is Jabberwocky. It is your “fantastic soul” speaking. Listen to it!

Jabberwocky

BY LEWIS CARROLL

’Twas brillig, and the slithy toves

Did gyre and gimble in the wabe:

All mimsy were the borogoves,

And the mome raths outgrabe.

“Beware the Jabberwock, my son!

The jaws that bite, the claws that catch!

Beware the Jubjub bird, and shun

The frumious Bandersnatch!”

He took his vorpal sword in hand;

Long time the manxome foe he sought—

So rested he by the Tumtum tree

And stood awhile in thought.

And, as in uffish thought he stood,

The Jabberwock, with eyes of flame,

Came whiffling through the tulgey wood,

And burbled as it came!

One, two! One, two! And through and through

The vorpal blade went snicker-snack!

He left it dead, and with its head

He went galumphing back.

“And hast thou slain the Jabberwock?

Come to my arms, my beamish boy!

O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!”

He chortled in his joy.

’Twas brillig, and the slithy toves

Did gyre and gimble in the wabe:

All mimsy were the borogoves,

And the mome raths outgrabe.

I have a love-hate relationship with this poem. I love it, but I hate that they have slain the Jabberwock.

Gamble, gambol, gimble – a conjugation? a declension? the beginnings of a new language?

The picture? Some of my son’s madness from Lewis Carroll – The Mad Hatter’s Tea Party 🙂

Have a fantastic day!!